Ahoy the Vessel
by Jason M. Lee
Summary: They always knew that the deep abyss of the oceans held many things unknown, and they were always learning news things. Encountering new contacts shouldn't had come as a surprise. After all, the seas are truly vast. Vignettes.
1. Contact

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel  
**

 **Chapter 1: Contact**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

Aim, fire, direct, recall, reload.

Aim, fire, direct, recall, reload.

A warning from New Jersey had her redirect a portion of her bombers to deal with several I-class Abyssal destroyers that had been attempting to attack behind her and Monssen. Seeing the last of Abyssal fighters explode in the air, courtesy of North Carolina's anti-aircraft guns and hearing the confirmation over the radio, Essex let out a soft breath of relief as she made to recall her planes back.

That relief was short lived when Albacore reported in an unidentified underwater object. Normally, the sub was calm and collected but when she repeated over the radio, there was a hint of panic when she added that the object was enormous. The captain of USS _Michael Murphy_ , the _Arleigh Burke_ -class destoryer acting as their floating command post, radioed in the same thing as well.

' _Most likely VERY enormous_ ,' Essex amended internally to herself when she spotted the barely hidden terrified looks shared between the girls that were equipped with sonar.

Looking back, the carrier was glad that all of them had enough discipline to _not_ shoot at the titanic creature when it breached the surface with a roar that rattled her Bofors 40mm guns (and no doubt the other girls' armaments). The "ship" part of her immediately began compiling notes for a report that was going to be a definite, while the "girl" part of her was very much trying not to cower behind New Jersey. As much as nobody wanted to approach the creature (who was apparently sniffing around in confusion), it was Grayson who drew the short straw on picking up the two human figures struggling to tread water in the shadow of the animal, being the first one to spot the pair.

As the _Gleaves_ -class destroyer drew up to their squadron leader, towing a make-shift pontoon that was helping keep the swimmers afloat, Essex could see the surprise and wonder on the man and woman's faces as they came closer.

"I'm the United States battleship New Jersey and please tell me that THAT... creature isn't going to attack us."

Not procedural of a USN officer, even for a commissioned ship girl, but considering the present circumstances, nobody faulted the battleship. Especially when said animal was looking at them with eyes that seemed like lava. Essex could almost picture the argument on why none of the ship girls were informed, even with their access to the internet.

A grimace from the man, pushing back wet bangs. "Dr. Niko Tatopoulos and my friend, Miss Audrey Timmonds. No, he won't attack you so as long nobody provokes him. If you can get us to dry land, we'll answer any questions that we can."

' _Things are going to be a LOT more interesting_ ,' the carrier thought as they formed up around Grayson and began to head back for the _Michael Murphy_.


	2. Play

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 2: Play**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

 _This new place was... strange._

 _He understood that Parent and Maybe-Parent were staying at one of the gray caves on the larger of two islands, he understood that the water here was warmer that where Home was, and he understood that he was NOT to bother any of the ships that came by. (Parent was very stern about the last part.)_

 _What he didn't understand were the females in blue, gray, white, and light brown._

 _They LOOKED similar to Maybe Parent in shape, but it was their scents and actions that baffled him. Flesh, sweat and the occasional hint of fear, he recognized coming off of them, but it was the tinge of ship oil and metal that mingled with their individual scents. And then there was the strange metal fins, small and large, that were part of the females, even on those that swam for long periods underwater like he did, except their fins were a bit smaller compared to the surface ones. Sometimes, he spotted them walking or running on the islands without their fins, but the scent of flesh mixed with metal would still occasionally drift to him. He knew that none of Parent's people walked on water, yet what the Surface Females did was more like running on water and they moved fairly fast for their sizes. There was also the hint of fire and smoke that came from their metal fins, which he supposed that they were hunters of a sort. He had seen Dangerous Green control many of his fire stingers back home and had often helped him when dealing with the Large Enemies._

 _Most of them watched him with wary eyes. Those, he simply watched back before lazily drifting off in the warm currents._

 _It was the company of the more fun ones that he enjoyed. True, they still had a hint of fear to them, but there was curiosity that he could see, and the more daring Surface Females would attempt to tease him with a bit of play by water-running up to him before turning sharply away whenever they spotted him on the surface. Some of the Swimming Females even made it a game to see who could swim up to him the closest without him noticing._

 _Not that he mind. It was a nice change of pace and it was fun._

 _A familiar rumble above him had him looking up, noticing a formation of stinger-spitting birds alongside a group of Surface Females. These were much smaller than the ones he was used to seeing, and he was curious as to how different they were. As none of the usual Swimming Females had come by to visit yet, he decided to surface._

X X X

"Alright, let's try- SWEET POSEIDON!" Wasp exclaimed when Godzilla launched himself out of the water at her planes. Her fairies immediately banked to the right, but they had to quickly pull up when he porpoised again. "WHAT is he doing?!"

"I think... he's playing?" Mississippi ventured cautiously, struggling to maintain balance amidst the waves. For whatever reason, it reminded her of how dolphins used to bow-ride in front of her during the quieter times of the war.

"WITH MY PLANES?!" Another leap. "WOULD YOU QUIT THAT?!"

As if hearing her, he paused in his descent and cocked his head at the carrier.

"YEAH, YOU! NOT PLAYTHINGS! YOU HEAR ME?!" She pointed at her planes, now flying at a much higher - and safer - altitude. "NO BITING!"

A tense pause. Wichita was fighting back a hysterical giggle at how Wasp was glaring at their unusual guest, and swore that he was laughing at the carrier when he tilted his head in the opposite direction. Well, she would be outright laughing if not for that the fact that he could easily capsize all of them with just a swipe of his tail.

A snort and then a large splash as he dove under, sending them reeling a bit in his wake.

Sighs of relief echoed throughout their entire group, Wasp all but collapsing onto her knees.

"Hey, 'Sippi."

"Yes?" A shaky smile on the battleship.

"If it looks like I'm about to do something like THAT again, hit me with your 5-inch/51 calibers."

"No promises."


	3. Musings

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 3: Musings**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

Walking through the streets that ran on the east side of Yokosuka Naval Base, Iowa savored the ocean breeze blowing towards inland under her ever present parasol. While off duty at the moment, her radar picked up several of her fellow ship girls practicing drills in the distance alongside the Japanese ship girls. Nearby, there was the giggles of DesDiv6 as they enjoyed a treat, no doubt courtesy of Mamiya. Passing by several US Navy enlisted personnel, she nodded her head in greeting when they saluted her. Iowa had to stifle her laughter upon catching a few snippets of San Francisco trying to dissuade Hiei from the idea of fermenting some of Kongou's stock of Earl Grey into kombucha. All in all, it was a rather relaxing day.

Chancing on to a frowning Kongou with arms crossed at one of the stone piers, however, brought the US battleship to pause. It was rare to not see the English-built fast battleship in a sunny mood, much less daydreaming about her "admiral". Even during her more serious moments, Kongou still had an upbeat attitude.

"Is something the matter, Kongou?"

Gray eyes blinked. "Oh, Iowa-san. Just... wool-gathering a bit, I suppose." She turned her gaze back to the sea, her frown now changing to a more contemplative look.

Following Kongou's line of sight, Iowa didn't see anything in the distance, but given the direction that the older ship was looking towards at, Iowa could more or less guess the proverbial wool.

"Thinking about our... guest?"

A somewhat sheepish smile. She, too, had been present when New Jersey had brought back the unexpected new arrivals. "Direct hit, Iowa-san. The others would probably put it as fanciful tales, but you can't pass by the Ryukyu Islands and spend time in the Philippines without at least hearing a myth or two of giant sea creatures."

"And the fact that this particular 'giant sea creature' is a result of nuclear testing?"

Kongou breathed out a sigh through her nose, giving a wave at a flotilla of Japanese and US heavy cruisers, destroyers and battleships returning from an escort mission. Finding out about Hiroshima and Nagasaki after being summoned was a shock and reading up about the history of it with her sisters from various sources was a very hard blow, especially seeing footage and photos of the aftermath. Learning about _Daigo Fukuryuu Maru_ and Operation Crossroads was also incredibly sobering as well - Nagato had been rather blunt when asked about it, and it took Haruna awhile to coax the story out of a not-so-energetic Sakawa before having to calm the cruiser down after.

"It's... strange, I suppose. That something like him, born from humanity's mistake, is willing to listen to one human. I think some would see it as a boon to have him as an ally in the oceans, military-wise, but given the history that both of our countries went through... Look at what it took to end the war and what came after." Kongou gestured towards northeast. "We're still dealing with Chernobyl and I don't even need to get started on Fukushima. I can't help but think that maybe it's a form of punishment from the _kami_. For the foolishness of treading into a domain that humans weren't meant to go into. Maybe those stories of Gojira are actually prophetic warnings that the island priests back then knew and the price is being paid now."

Iowa had to smile at the self-proclaimed English-returnee's thoughts, albeit a bit sadly. She had briefly met Nick during his meeting with the base's upper brass before coming over to Yokosuka for escort duties. While he had obviously omitted certain parts to his story, she was able to guess that he had played a very important part in it and she had seen him interact with Godzilla a few times.

There was a weight that reminded her very much of her own boys. Apparently, Kongou had also seen it in Nick as well.

"But... maybe it's that punishment that can help us in the future," Iowa spoke softly, ignoring the questioning look from Kongou. "We ship girls could have stayed after we were sunk or stayed with our museum selves, yet we still came back when we heard the beat to quarters. Duty, love, to protect those we consider precious and important to us, or for our own reasons. Dr. Tatopoulos has the feel of my boys after the war, of those that felt like they were being punished, yet..."

"...he's accepted that duty with love and the need to protect," the older battleship finished thoughtfully. A hint of a smile, some of her regular cheer coming back in. "Huh. That's one way to look at it."

A brighter smile on the US ship before turning to look back towards the ocean, enjoying the breeze again.


	4. Lunchtime

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 4: Lunctime**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

Langley paused on pushing her cart containing her meal upon spotting one of the bases' newest arrivals. Audrey had a full tray, but she was chewing on a pen while staring pensively at a notebook, food barely touched. Motherly instincts kicking in, the carrier shifted her route.

"Is this seat taken?"

A startled squawk and Audrey dropped her pen, staring at Langley dumbly. "Oh! Ah, uhm, er... No! Go right ahead!"

"Thank you."

"You know..." Audrey started hesitantly as Langley began cutting her grilled chicken to size, "...you could've just taken it without asking me."

The carrier gave a motherly smile. "Ah, but that would be rude. Your parents raised you to ask first as well, did they not?"

"Touche. So, what can I do for the first aircraft carrier?"

"Converted aircraft carrier," she corrected matter-of-factly, taking a sip of her coffee. "Houshou has the rights as the first commissioned carrier (even if Hermes will argue about being the first one designed and laid down), and you look like your engines were running but propellers weren't spinning. Thus, penny for your thoughts?"

Pennies? Audrey would've substituted that for dollar bills instead. As a world traveling news correspondent, she had seen many things that ranged from normal human activities to covering large actions. Bomb squads disposing of explosives at a major transit center one week, unusual weather and forest fires over in the West Coast another week was the norm. Getting the scoop on Godzilla tackling the latest "Mutation of the Week" - as Randy and Animal jokingly coined - was excellent, if said mutation being the result of something scientific or well-intentioned gone wrong as an extra. She had seen humanity at both its worst and brightest, and had seen her significant other's "adopted son" unexpectedly demonstrate what some would call moral decisions.

But now... Human-sized black and gray creatures simply known as Abyssals that pretty much put the shipping industry to a halt and all but slowed the world economy to a crawl? Women of various ages and shapes embodying the spirits of World War II ships being able to take on the Abyssals and so bringing back some semblance to the world, if not making a new world of "norm"? Said women that can take out said Abyssals when the most highly technological advanced navy ships could barely do so?

Monique would've called it ridiculous.

Yet, here she was, having lunch in the mess hall of the re-established/reclaimed Naval Air Facility Midway with the first US Navy carrier.

Who was already half-way through her fifth plate, which had been comprised of a large variety of vegetables.

' _Where does all that go?_ ' Audrey thought as she watched with fascination over the rim of her cup.

"Ah, Langley-san!"

Both heads turned to see a Japanese woman in a pink kimono and blue hakama skirt with a tray that held a very large bowl of rice and large piles of other foodstuff that Audrey barely recognized. Langley smiled widely and waved. "Houshou! Come, sit!"

" _Arigatou_. And you must be Timmonds-san. A pleasure to meet you." Houshou bowed after sitting down next to Langley.

Audrey quickly bobbed a bow back, not wanting to be culturally insensitive. "Oh, no. The pleasure's mine, Miss Houshou."

A soft laugh, one hand covering her mouth. "I hope I wasn't interrupting the two of you."

"You weren't. I had asked Audrey a question and was simply waiting."

Audrey finally couldn't hold it in. "How does it work?" she blurted out.

Both older women blinked before exchanging looks with each other and then looked back at her. Audrey fought the urge to squirm like a child with their hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar.

' _Mother of carriers, alright._ '

"I mean, how..." The younger blonde waved a hand around them. She had been playing a guessing game as to which people walking about were normal base personnel and which were ship girls. The ones wearing male versions of the older uniforms were a bit more obvious, but those wearing the current uniforms were a bit harder to tell, even the ones that looked like they came straight out of high school. "How do you, well, come back? I know I might not be able to tell anyone else anything for obvious military security reasons. Alright, save maybe Nick, but it's been on my mind ever since Nick and I arrived here. You can't just simply be... personifications of your past selves, right?"

Another look was exchanged and Langley placed her utensils down before clasping her hands in front of her solemnly. "Truth, in that we aren't simply personifications of World War II ships. Or just anthropomorphisms."

"No, more than that," Houshou spoke softly. "We are the souls of the warships themselves, given a second chance at life. Yet, we are not entirely human, as you know."

"When you two were told that we are ships, it's quite literal. Do you know the story of Galatea?"

"Greek story of ivory statue brought to life after her sculptor wished for it," Audrey answered promptly.

Langley nodded. "We're a bit similar to that, but different."

"In Japan, we believe that every object has a _kami_." Houshou paused, as if searching for a word. "A translation would be 'god', but I think 'spirit' is better suited in our situation. For every ship laid down and have seen service, it has a _kami_. The people that constructed the ships, the people that have lived and died on the ships, and the captains that lead the ships. We kanmusu embody those that have served our previous selves, that _kami_ becoming a _tamashii_ , a soul."

Spiritualism wasn't something Audrey ever got into, but considering Shintoism was still a fairly major religion in Japan and the Japanese diaspora, it made sense. There were other cultures out there that had similar beliefs. "What about... coming back? I don't mean to offend, but..."

Another motherly smile from Langley, taking another sip. "No offense taken. While some of the methods have been altered from the original way that the Japanese had first created, there's still a constant that's necessary for every summoning."

"Materials must be offered," Houshou picked up. She used her chopsticks to create four different mounds of rice, adding other pieces of food as if to categorize each mound and then gestured at each while she spoke. "Without steel, we would not have our bodies to stand. Without fuel, we would not have internal mechanisms to move. Without ammunition, we would not be able to fight. Without bauxite, we carriers would not have our planes. Without any of these, without the proper gesture, none would come."

A quick memory of a fellow reporter constantly praising about a manga series that talked of "equivalent exchange" briefly bounced in her head before she set it aside. "What's the proper gesture?"

"That depends on the individual navies." Langley waved at the world map pinned to the wall. "In short, the most common thing is beat to quarters. And regarding ships that had been become museums, it's their choice. Iowa could have stayed in San Pedro, but she chose to come back. Same with many others - Alabama and Massachusetts, Sackville and Haida from the Royal Canadian Navy, Alliance and Belfast of the UK Royal Navy, and Castlemaine of the Royal Australian Navy, to name a few."

"But... why?"

Never mind the hows and whats of the actual process, that was something for scientists to work over. For Audrey, the reporter in her, it was the people of the story, their reasons and backgrounds. The hows and whats may have played a part in shaping the people, but it was the whos, their experiences, that was a main focus.

Houshou smiled gently. "Because as Langley-san said, it was our choice. We could've stayed in the Beyond, to our peace of having done our duty. Yet to hear the beat to quarters, and to hear the prayers of our countrymen, how can we not answer? We were created to protect our countries, to defend the seas that our countrymen travel on, as well those visiting." She closed her eyes, straightened her back and laid her hands on her lap as if in meditation. "'Hast thou not gone against sincerity? Hast thou not felt ashamed of thy word and deeds? Hast thou not lacked vigor? Hast thou exerted all possible efforts? Hast thou not become slothful?'"

"'Not for self, but for country,'" the older ship added, a finger held up as if to emphasize. "'Honor, Courage, Commitment'. And to quote our British counterparts, 'If you wish for peace, prepare for war.'"

Even though the mess hall was noisy with the usual bustle, Audrey felt as if she was wrapped in a bubble, sitting with the first commissioned carrier and the first USN carrier. She had more questions that she knew there were answers to, but now, she felt that maybe not asking them was the better part. With the Abyssals present, it was a war that if fought with conventional methods, it would be a war of attrition. Unconventional opponents called for unconventional methods, after all. "I..." She blinked rapidly. "Thank you very much."

The gentle pat on the head from Langley was unexpected, but it was comforting.


	5. Sortie

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 5: Sortie  
**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

Nick scribbled like mad into his notebook, ignoring the wind that ruffled his hair, sea spray that was flying in his face and the petty officer that was temporarily assigned to him as his aide/escort aboard the USS _Michael Murphy_. His concentration was split between his notepad and conversing with Grayson, the destroyer who had initially pulled him and Audrey out of the water.

It had taken a lot of begging to the base captain to let him accompany one of the ship destroyers assigned with the ship girls. There was resistance at first, primarily because of his civilian status, but Hicks was finally able to get all the paperwork mess sorted out and get the captain to agree. Technically, the conversation should've been with someone higher ranked than an Army major and from the Department of Defense (if not either Army and/or Navy), but Hicks was the only person out of all commissioned officers in the US military who was the closest to Nick, as well the most understanding in their line of work. Hicks had pointed out that there wasn't enough scientific research done on Abyssals, other than strategic and tactical research, and Nick was one of the very rare few scientists out there to have experience with "very" dangerous field work beyond the norm.

"Not to mention having the reflexes to dodge heavy artillery as well orders to stay out," the Army major had wryly added over video conference, to Nick's chagrin and the captain's slight amusement.

So far, nothing had happened much. They were on their way to do a rotation of ship girls, and the only interesting thing so far was spotting dolphins bow-ride and a very marginally startled sonar technician call in of Godzilla following them not long out of the docks. While Nick had quizzed Grayson about ship girl life, she had in turn quizzed him about his work with H.E.A.T. The _Gleaves_ -class destroyer was more of a medic at heart, but that didn't stop her zeal for learning things that had transpired since her scrapping, namely the presence of mutations the size of Godzilla.

"How much trouble DO you guys get into?"

A wry smile as Nick tucked away his writing utensils and readjusted his jacket. "Quite a bit and that depends on what type of trouble you're asking about."

"Alright, medical-wise."

"Between Elsie, Mendel and I, we can do simple field medicine enough to survive so as to be able to make it back to a proper hospital, but we haven't gotten to that point yet, thankfully. There have been the occasional close calls. Even then, Hicks always has a medical team on standby whenever we're working together."

"What about Godzilla?"

"Natural healing, but he has occasionally needed our help." He already had enough bad dreams of seeing his adopted son being catatonic from the floral bio-weapon and being infected by the Mutant Bacillus. "We do have to wing it a bit, sometimes asking the large animal keepers at zoos for some ideas. There's no standard way of treatment."

Grayson hummed in thought. "What about legal trouble?"

"That, you'll have to talk with our attorney. We had a hard time finding one who would be willing to handle our type of work since we travel so much, which creates jurisdiction issues. By the time we found a firm that would let us sign the retainers, we had several suits bearing down on us." Wasn't that fun, having to provide so much paperwork that Randy had joked if there were any trees left in the state of New York and nearby Connecticut. "And then there's us learning that they have their fair share of issues when it comes to jurisdiction."

"How so?"

"For example, an Alaskan or New York attorney can practice in certain states without needing to pass that particular state's bar exam. However, if a Hawaiian attorney wants to practice law in California, then they'll have to pass California's bar exam. If a suit was filed in Florida, then we'd need an attorney from Florida. However, our NY attorney must file paperwork if he chooses to represent us in Florida. If he didn't, then he'd be in legal trouble himself."

Grayson made a face. "Makes me glad to stick with medicine, then."

"Cultural differences and different regulations," Nick pointed out with a smile.

A giggle and just as she opened her mouth to ask another question, general quarters sounded, prompting her to give a quick salute and bolt for the staging area.

"Dr. Tatopoulos, I highly advise you to step back inside!" Petty Officer Matevosian called over the alarms, already moving and one hand holding out a radio.

"So as long I get a decent view!" Nick yelled back, following the woman's lead and dodging other personnel while grabbing the communication device.

X X X

 _While he was able to sense Parent on the small gray stinger-ship, he could also sense a group of foul blackness approaching. These were small, similar to the Surface Females and the Swimming Females, yet there was a wrongness to them that grated on his nerves. The main part of him wanted to immediately destroy them, lest they hurt Parent, but a very quick surface for a breath of fresh air carried the familiar mixed scent of ship metal and oil with flesh. Having seen the Surface Females and Swimming Females do patrols many times, he decided to watch how they hunted._

 _Hearing and seeing fire explode above him confirmed his guess that they were able to release fire stingers like Dangerous Green's people did, sinking the black females to their watery graves. He cautiously approached one of the bodies that was starting to go under and nearly sneezed at their scent when he stuck his nostrils above water. They also carried the smell of ship metal, oil and smoke, but it was much nastier compared the Surface and Swimming Females - if he could put it to words, the Surface and Swimming Females smelled a bit more right._

 _Normally, he would've joined in the hunt, but seeing as the Surface and Swimming Females were handling it without any issues, he decided not to interfere yet. The Wrong Black Ones weren't familiar enemies, plus their mobility and small sizes were a bit too close to Parent for his comfort, even though the gray stinger-ship had moved away. He knew that while his large size gave him great power, he also understood that it could be a detriment to Parent's safety at times - water was his domain, not Parent's, and this was one of those times._

 _A thunderous explosion not too far from his head prompted a surprised bark, bubbles escaping. Glancing up, he saw one of the Surface Females sinking, some of her metal fins broken. He wasn't able to smell underwater, but the thin dark trail leaving her body indicated that she was hurt. Seeing that she wasn't moving at all, he moved in._

X X X

"Bagley!" Grayson yelled when the older destroyer went under after taking an unexpected hit from a Ro-class destroyer. One of Saratoga's Avengers took care of said Abyssal destroyer.

"Focus, Grayson!" Patterson shouted over the radio, blocking several hits from a Ha-class before returning the favor with torpedoes.

"But-!"

Turbulent waves that heralded Godzilla surfacing with an unconscious Bagley on top of his snout was startling, but what surprised both ship girls and regular personnel was that he was making a beeline towards _Michael Murphy_. The Abyssals were quick to recover and began to fire at Godzilla, but the ship girls immediately poured on cover fire to finish off the leftovers.

"Has he always done this?" a corpsman asked with a faint hint of disbelief as he and another corpsman carefully moved the injured destroyer onto a stretcher. Several other corpsmen and technicians were going over to check the remaining ship girls for injuries and damages. (Both were ignoring the fact that they were stepping on top of the enormous reptile, who was easily keeping pace with the _Arleigh Burke_ -class destroyer despite swimming alongside them.)

Nick simply smiled wryly, moving aside to let a worried Blue rush to follow her sister into the sickbay. Falling back, Godzilla let out a soft rumble that seemed satisfied before slipping back under.


	6. Assembly

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 6: Assembly  
**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

While there were often meetings between captains, commanders, admirals, and secretary ships, it was usually with two or three countries through video conference or in person for joint exercises, or occasionally during military gatherings with the general public. To have a good majority of secretary ship and captains in one place outside of major ceremonies was rare.

As the Atlantic held the bulk of navies that were running ship girl programs, Naval Station Norfolk found itself hosting several groups of naval personnel for the early meeting. They could have done it via video conference, but this particular meeting was considered better handled in person. Cordial greetings and teasing jibes were exchanged as they gathered in one of the conference rooms, paperwork and a projector being set up by the junior officers. One officer who didn't bear any naval insignia on his service dress drew questioning looks from the ship girls as he joined them, but they held their words, knowing that answers would be given. As soon as the door closed, King George V slammed an open palm onto the table, causing several of them to flinch upon hearing the ominous crack from the legs (and causing some of them to scoot back a bit).

"Let's dispense with the pleasantries, shall we?" A glare that matched the intensity of her 14-inch guns was leveled on the USN crew. "WHY were we not notified of incredibly large creatures that existed, such as Godzilla, after we had returned?"

Richeliu crossed her arms, frowning. "An explanation of such a move would be appreciated between us ship girls, _oui_? Such... omission is not sound strategy, much less good tactics."

Missouri raised her hands in defense. "Hey, my girls weren't told either even after we came back, although there's probably a damn good reason as to why." A pointed side glance was directed at the lone officer who lacked anchors on his person.

Hicks returned the glance coolly while taking over the laptop hooked up to the projector. "US Army Major Anthony Hicks. You'll have to take that up with the JCS and the upper brass of your respective countries, but I believe the main consensus was that as the Abyssals were primarily of naval concern, there was little need to burden you girls with mutations. That's been the Army's jurisdiction - and most of the land forces of other countries - since the first Godzilla appeared. Off the record, and if it makes any of you feel better, I wasn't happy about the decision either."

"He's right," Captain Abigail Joshi spoke up, before any of the secretary ships could protest. The USN captain in charge of Midway couldn't make it, so Joshi, who headed the USN ship girl contingent from Naval Base San Diego, attended in his place. "Most of the mutations have been sighted on land, and it's usually been ground troops that have helped H.E.A.T. when dealing with them. Water-based ones haven't occurred often enough to necessitate almost any naval involvement, as Godzilla usually takes care of them before we get to enter the picture. Airborne ones are also quite rare."

"Still doesn't excuse us not being told, cap'n," Australia grumbled, chewing on her ever-present stalk of wheat. "We could've provided artillery support from the water front."

"Except you run the risk of friendly fire," Nagato pointed out. "I won't argue that some of us battleships and heavy cruisers have provided support from the sea for ground troops at some point in our previous life. An important question is how many of us kanmusu can claim accuracy over long distances without needing spotters, and not induce any further collateral damage even when trying to pinpoint large moving targets. That also includes not hitting Gojira if he moves into our line of fire."

A somewhat somber silence hung over the secretary ships at that detail, Australia wincing at her faux pas.

"Actually, that idea has some merit," Hicks mused after setting his presentation on auto-play, drawing surprised looks from his fellow officers. "Have those of you with decent firepower on the backs of JLTVs or Humvees as fire support if it came down to it. You are able to move on land with your rigging, correct?"

When the first slide showed the first Godzilla going down the streets of New York, all of the secretary ships present were shocked at the base numbers of his sheer size and how he made the tanks look like toys. Eyes grew wider as the slides changed, displaying other mutations encountered so far. The stapled packet of papers had been skimmed through, but seeing the pictures added more impact.

" _Ja_ , but not with as much mobility as we would when on water," Scharnhorst finally responded, mentally composing herself after seeing just how heavy El Gusano was. "It isn't that much different than soldiers carrying all of their equipment over land by foot."

Which wasn't that far from the truth. After the first several British and German ship girls had come back, an OTC officer cadet had asked what was the difference of them moving on land versus on water in full gear. The JMSDF and IJN ship girls had responded - strangely sheepishly - that it hadn't occurred to them to even think of such a thing in the first place, since they were so focused on reopening sea lanes at the beginning. Which lead to several rather spectacular... incidents involving large and numerous repair bills when the other navies began building their ship girl fleets and testing their maneuverability on land in the process. The end result: a fleet girl at full combat capacity with her outfit on was no faster than a soldier carrying their maximum capacity of equipment in most urban scenarios. The main advantages the majority of ship girls had was higher durability, strength and stamina - the disadvantages were the rigging sizes on some of the light cruisers and above. Non-urban simulations, such as desert, jungle or arctic, haven't been tested yet, but there were joint exercises already planned.

"Other than needing more space, sir," Missouri mock-whispered. "Just don't ask us to have our rigging on and be marching in formation - we'd be knocking over the others and a lot of stuff at every turn."

Several chuckles broke out at that mental image, before some coughing and throat clearing to regain their decorum.

"Nevertheless, the concept of fleet personnel providing support fire for land forces on the chance of encountering any mutation - save Godzilla - is somewhat sound," Kapitän Karla Schroeder said, gesturing at the slide currently on to the screen, this one of the few mutations held in Area 51. "However, I believe that there have been cases of non-hostile mutations?"

"Affirmative." The lone Army major switched to an underwater video clip of the Loch Ness Monster helping untangle her child from a bed of water grass. "MT1-2699-11, better known as Nessie, only attacked the Pisces Marine Research Institute out of parental instincts due to her offspring being captured. Civilians still report seeing both of them whenever they surface for air, but there have been no actual attacks. The most notable incident to date were of several inebriated tourists from Chile learning the unwise decision of trying an unsupervised 'night tour' six weeks ago, according to the local police."

(It was taking all of Nagato's willpower to NOT start cooing upon seeing the younger Nessie, nor beg her captain to arrange for an... exercise with the RN in Scotland. Said Captain Tadanobu Nagata simply rolled his eyes, while Captain Edwin FitzRoy and George exchanged smirks.)

Giulio Cesare tapped the packet that she had briefly gone through. "Then a seminar on mutations will be arranged? I believe I speak for every ship girl on not wanting to be going in blind should we encounter a sea-based creature during patrol or sorties."

"That decision will be have to be decided by the upper brass, but I believe that several NATO instructors have syllabuses available," Hicks answered. "As for having naval fire support on improvised trucks or AFVs, I'll try to bring it up at the next meeting. That packet can be copied and distributed to the rest of your fleets."

Joshi stood up. "Well, then I believe that this meeting is adjourned?"

Nods and vocal assents sounded out.

"Chow time!" Missouri whooped, leaping out of her seat. "There's an amazing all-you-can-eat international buffet that's serving breakfast right now! Betcha can't clear out 10 plates of links in less than 30 seconds, Georgie!"

A sharp grin on the British battleship. "20 plates, and challenged accepted."

Barely veiled sighs as the captains mentally prepared for the pain of reimbursement paperwork. Hicks simply smirked to himself.


	7. Old Sea Dog

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 7: Old Sea Dog**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

 _She was old, yet she still stayed._

 _She could had let go, but she still stayed._

 _She might no longer be patrolling the seas during peace time or firing her cannons in battle, but she still had her duty to her country. Learning that she would become a museum ship, to teach future generations of the Navy's role in war and peacetime, gave her comfort in honor. Learning that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had placed her in permanent commission and President Barack H. Obama had made her her country's only ship of state brought joy to her, knowing that short of a major disaster, she was committed to stay as long as she could. To hear the awe and constant questions of people asking, and to hear the sailors that served on her answer, it was soothing. The few times that she was able to sail under her own power, escorted by ships of the current generation as well the flying metal birds that she learned were "jets", she was happy that she wasn't forgotten._

 _Learning that ships, generations far removed from her era but not too far from the current age, had returned to fight once again, saddened her a bit, for she wished to have the same courage to do so._

 _Yet, she was old._

 _At times, she wondered, what good was her nickname for such an old timer when she couldn't fight?_

 _A child that belonged to a family visiting from England had asked why such an outdated ship like her was still around, when there were more faster and powerful ships._

 _Surprisingly, the child's older sibling had answered it was so that their history wouldn't be forgotten, and didn't the younger sibling asked that when they had visited HMS_ Victory _,_ Trincomalee _and_ Warrior _last year, silly?_

 _The navy officer guiding them had laughed and answered, yes, it was so that their history could continued to be shared with future generations._

 _That had mollified her a bit. But still, hearing talk of how ships from the Second World War returning to fight against the black creatures that fouled the seas now made her almost wish to move again. Almost._

 _Hearing talk of giant creatures that had far more power than any of the military might in the world had also given her pause. The stories of the titanic lizard that sounded as if created by a far higher power - a dragon in all but name and wings - and seemed to defend the City of New York, as regaled by those visiting from there, piqued her curiosity. Tales of other enormous creatures from around the world were spoken of as well._

 _Perhaps..._

 _Nay, she was old, and yet..._

 _Screams around her, and then the officers calling for evacuations to safety. Fleetingly, she could hear people yelling that the foul black abominations of the sea had come far too close, as well hearing the bombardment of cannon fire._

 _Most importantly, the sound of a certain rhythm in the faint distance from the newer ships as they raced to defend the harbor and city._

 _Something that she hadn't heard in over a hundred years._

 ** _Beat to quarters._**

 _What good could a wooden ship from the Age of Sails do against those that moved faster than what the wind could move her? Against those that could fire shells that inflicted far more damage than her gunpowder and cannonballs could?_

 _And yet, the tempo continued to sound, settling into her keel, her helm, her prow, her decks._

 _The crying and screaming of those of her countrymen, as well those visiting her from far off nations. The shouting of the returned ships firing to hold the line, and of the officers that served on her moving to do their duty of protecting._

 _Duty._

 _A brief image of an elderly gentleman, a soldier, someone she had never encountered before, but she **knew** him._

 _The one who had named her._

 ** _Beat to quarters._**

 _Gathering courage, she moved forward, feeling her rigging, her lines and her cannons form around her._

 _She had been laid down to serve her country, and she was committed to continue to do so._

 _She would honor those that had served on her, those currently serving on her, and those serving elsewhere._

 ** _Beat to quarters._**

X X X

"How in St. Elmo's name were they able to sneak in this close?!" Massachusetts yelled, trying to force her 16-inch rifles to fire faster. " _Go hifreann leat_!"

"Let's just focus on letting the civilians get to safety!" Ranger shouted back, already launching her planes. Tuscaloosa and Augusta sped past her, also cutting loose with their shelling. Corry, Hobson, Forrest and Fitch were helping out the US Coast Guard cutters, as well as making sure the civilian boats were cleared - none of the destroyers were risking their torpedoes.

Even though hearing sirens of emergency vehicles coming in gave her a measure of comfort, Massachusetts spat out another curse, steaming out of the harbor. Like Hell was she going to let any Abyssal trash her home city.

Attacks by Abyssals this close to shore was one of the absolute worst case scenarios that many navies dared not think of, but often had nightmares of. Not one person involved with the ship girl programs around the world wanted to contemplate the possibility of Abyssals attacking land from sea, but as it was a possibility, everyone took it seriously. They already had enough problems with giant mutations that popped out of the woodwork as it is, even if the majority of them were land-based. This led to having ship girls patrol the coastlines alongside various coast guards. Early jurisdiction friction had popped up, but that was to be expected and feathers were eventually smoothed over once the ship girls and coast guards were able to figure out logistics. No one had reported any Abyssal bombardment so far.

"Are the civilians cleared yet, Hobson?!" Ranger called over the radio, now recalling her Wildcats as Sangamon sent out her Dauntlessess.

"Negative!" Hobson all but tossed a man (who had been refusing to part from his "precious baby") to the Boston Police Harbor Unit before moving on to the next yacht. Further down, Corry was struggling to coax a family off of their boat and into the hands of the Boston police. "Evacuation still in progress!"

Before Massachusetts could let loose another Gaelic epithet, gunfire that sounded far different from her cannons or the smaller guns on the cruisers barked from behind her. Two _Tsu_ -class cruisers staggered when the rounds hit, allowing Massachusetts to quickly finish them off. Turning around, she all but stared at the sight before her, not even blinking when a shell from a _To_ -class cruiser took off several hair strands. Both Tuscaloosa and Augusta turned as well, and also gawked at the sight.

While she moved at a slower pace compared to them, the gold trim, epaulettes, and buttons gleaming on the ship girl's dark blue jacket as she sped over the water certainly made her cut quite a figure. Cannons recoiled back when they fired again, a haze of smoke partially covering her rigging, vambraces, white trousers and cutlass before it was cleared by a breeze. Black boots with red heel-rudders sliced through the waves with ease, slower but still at a respectable speed, the four elongated and wide tails of the jacket flapping behind her while a pair of anchors swayed in tandem. The chain shots landed with devastating effect on the necks and limbs of the Abyssals unlucky enough to be hit.

But there was no mistaking the three masts and sails that loomed over this ship girl, the eagle and six stars stitched on the back of the dark blue jacket, nor the green, blue, yellow and red ribbon that held her auburn hair in a ponytail waving in the wind as well.

" _Non sibi sed patriae_ ," she declared, grays eyes glittering with patriotic pride as she fired again, 32-pounders hitting their marks on the remaining _Ri_ -class cruiser. "Heavy frigate Constitution, full sails ahead! Shall I take your mizzen, fore and main masts before you strike your flag?"

Jaws on the emergency personnel, Coast Guard and the rest of the unit dropped.

The general press and internet had an absolute field day, praises, comments, pictures and video footage flooding online like the proverbial tsunami.

The USN Mass Communication Specialists had absolute headaches, especially upon learning that a good portion of southern live oak, copper, ammunition and canvas were gone from several naval depots


	8. Christening

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 8: Christening**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

It started slow.

After Constitution's unexpected self-summoning and subsequent trouncing of the Abyssals that came too close to Boston Navy Yard, attendance to her still present hull and the museum surged to record levels. Research into her history all but crashed servers - the USN's servers that focused on Constitution came close to failing several times - and libraries had to start calling in crowd control.

Akatsuki, in her never-ending quest to become a true lady, could easily had been the one to blame for it.

While most humans celebrated their date of birth usually on one or two days, depending on their religion, ship girls celebrated three. Namely, the date that their keel was laid down, the date that they were launched, and the date that they were commissioned or had their first voyage. Some celebrated all three, others only celebrated whichever the ones they liked the best, a few just ignored it.

Early into her research, the lead ship of the _Akatsuki_ -class destroyers had learned that it wasn't too far long until Constitution's launch date. Knowing that a trip to visit "Constitution-sama" wasn't likely for a very long while, she filled out a form on requesting permission to send a batch of DesDiv6's mild curry as a gift. After staring at the request for several minutes and then a bit of chuckling, Captain Nagata stamped his approval.

Then, it completely snowballed from there.

Mutsuki saw the four sisters borrowing Mamiya's kitchen, learned the reason, and promptly discussed it with her sister ships. Fubuki and Shiratsuyu talked about it during firing practice, deciding on specialty Japanese sweets. Noshiro wondered if a custom silk kimonoo set wouldn't be a bad idea. CruDiv17, having stopped by Yokosuka for a quick pit stop, spread the word to DesRon 48, which then spread to Newfoundland and Gambia. Both Naka and Mahan had to be dissuaded from throwing a musical performance, much to their disappointment, but they did talk with Tennessee on possibly purchasing a guitar. Königsberg and several U-boats practically fought tooth and nail to work at a brewery to create a special draft for "Big Sis Konnie", while the Italians, Spanish and French argued over various biancos, sherries and chardonnays. Fists were nearly traded between the British, Australian, and New Zealand ships over the decision of haggis and tea or Vegemite and their specialty brews. (Haggis and tea won, if only that it wouldn't' be too far off from what Constitution's older crews would had experienced and after several officers gave them a thorough chewing.) Even some of the the regular navy personnel got into the spirit of things, much to the various degrees of amusement and annoyance of numerous supply officers when they saw the requisition forms.

And throughout it all, America's only ship of state remained unaware of the ongoings around her, continuing her first press tour across the US.

X X X

The lone sail ship blinked at the large pile of wrapped and unwrapped items stacked in one corner of the ward room, so neatly arranged that even the strictest of any instructor sergeant would've approved. A nearby table was piled high with various foodstuffs, some familiar while others were quite odd looking. Reaching out, Constitution picked up a slim laptop that had her emblem engraved on the lid and read the card attached to it - a rather jovial message from a Randy Hernandez about it being powerful to "pwn n00bs online" and a Dr. Mendel Craven on having modified it to be suitable for naval purposes. A raised eyebrow was directed at the now smiling and grinning officers and ship girls. It was only a day after returning to Norfolk from her press tour, the last stop being Stephen Colbert.

"We even got a card made!" Missouri cheerfully said. She bounced over to the pile to shuffle out a large 4-foot tall card that was absolutely covered in all varieties of signatures and doodles. Prominently at the top on the inside was "Happy Launching Day!" done by someone with impeccable calligraphy skills, the words mimicking ocean waves. "The original plan was individual cards, but that got nixed because it'd be a literal mountain, so we commissioned this instead."

Constitution turned the laptop over several times, opening it once to glance at her reflection before looking over at the gifts, and then at the faces of the younger generations. Revered, she had been, by the Americans of old, for her participation in the Quasi-War and especially against Guerriere and Java. A soldier, as flagship of the Pacific Squadron as well with the Mediterranean Squadron, not to mention the African Slave Trade Patrol. An ambassador and trainer, what with her tours around the world as well being a receiving and barracks ship for some time before becoming a true teacher as a museum ship.

Now, to be revered again in this form by this current generation, both human and ship girl, it felt a bit strange. The US Navy was certainly understandable for obvious reasons - she and her sister ships were the beginning of the US Navy after the Continental Navy's disbandment. From other navies... She wondered if this was what her present-day sailors had often said by "feeling touched" whenever visitors would often thank them.

A small smile from Nagato, moving over to the two large slow cookers bearing Japan's flag on it, one with a stenciled ship's silhouette. "Akatsuki wanted to meet you, but since she knew she wouldn't be able to, she and DesDiv6 decided to make a batch of their curry as their gift. Word spread and then everyone decided to chip in."

"The original plan was to do it for your commission date, but since that was so far off, your launch date was picked instead," King George V added, holding up a large bottle of Madeira that was specially brewed.

Accepting the first plate of bauxite curry from Nagato, Constitution sorted through the flavors of spices and vegetables mixing in with the plain white rice. Copper and live oak, she was used to, but bauxite held a flavor of its own, alongside hints of different alloys that was blended with it, no doubt tended with due attention by the young destroyers. Closing her eyes after taking a second spoonful, she could almost see the work Destroyer Division 6 placed into making their curry, going through many iterations and taste tests before finally agreeing on the batch that was "most befitting for an elephant ('elegant', a whisper came) lady". Perhaps it was because she was a sail ship of wood, rather than a modern warship of steel, or perhaps it was because of how long she had been around. Either way, Constitution felt the dedication that was poured into creating this dish. Looking at the other gifts, there was also that sense of heart that went into either the creation or acquisition of her gifts.

There was an emotion building up in her decks as she took a sip from the shot glass of Madeira that George began to distribute. (Her faeries were happy to FINALLY have tots, even if it was wine and not rum.) It was something she had overheard some of the young folks use quite often.

Ah, "warm and fuzzy feelings".

"Then... it would be remiss of me to not give my thanks to young Akatsuki in person," she finally spoke with a smile.

Akatsuki was over the moon and nearly fainted when Constitution made Yokosuka her first stop into her world tour to meet the young destroyer.


	9. Wai Momi

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 9: _Wai Momi_  
**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

For the first time in a long while, Mendel was happy.

Well, relatively speaking at the moment. He was carefully guiding N.I.G.E.L. on mapping out USS _Utah_ 's wreckage at the request of the National Park Service and USN, before moving onto USS _Arizona_. He wished that he could enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian weather, but considering that he was working at a war grave (and he was going to need to reapply some sunscreen), he took solace in that after this assignment was done, he might be able to check out the museums and maybe visit some of the universities. Hey, when the government was footing the bill on these kinds of trips, he wasn't going to say no. Besides, no Randy to "mess" with N.I.G.E.L.'s vocal processors, no Monique constantly harping "French superiority/American inferiority", and no Elsie snarking at him.

"Yo, egg head!"

Years of suffering from Randy's pranks prevented him from sending N.I.G.E.L. crashing into the sea floor when he almost flinched at the New Jersey accent. Turning around revealed a pair of young women in blue NWUs - the brunette had a Navajo-designed headband that was blue with several feathers sticking out; the red head with a turquoise earring stud also had a similar looking headband but with red, yellow and blue triangles and squares. (And there were a few hints of burn scars peeking out from under their uniforms, but he didn't dare look any further.) Almost feeling his eyebrow twitch at the wide smiles on their faces and their name tags, Mendel wisely recalled N.I.G.E.L. back to the surface, deciding that he was done for the day.

"Miss Utah, Miss Arizona. To what do I owe the pleasure for?"

"Naw, just wondering what the heck were you doing at our old hulks," the younger battleship spoke. "Name?"

"Dr. Mendel Craven. The National Park Service and USN had requested additional mapping of your... wreckage from a third-party perspective," he answered, moving to the water front to retrieve his prized robot. "Namely in regards to environmental concerns from the fluids that were still on board when you two... sunk."

"Oh yeah." Arizona slapped a fist onto her palm. "They've been saying about how the oil from me was screwing up the waters here."

"As if the metal from our hulls aren't doing enough damage as it is," the former battleship teased.

"Hey, you try telling that to every other girl who got turned into a museum ship," the red head shot back playfully, her Brooklyn accent slipping in. "I heard the last time someone poked fun at Blue Lex about that, she all but sicced her entire complement of air wings on to the poor sucker."

Utah chortled gleefully.

It was taking all of his discipline to not stare at the two battleships reborn while putting N.I.G.E.L.'s aquatic sections away and converting him back to land-mode. Mendel had seen part of the Atlantic Fleet out on patrol with the Coast Guard whenever the team left on the H.E.A.T. Seeker, usually those stationed in New York and some of the ship girls from the RCN. He had also read papers released to the scientific community, which resulted in having to build a new book shelf in his office due to the sheer amount of journals and magazines he had purchased from around the world. Heck, he had even bought magazines pertaining to ship girls from religious publishers (reputable ones, of course), which initially lead to a good amount of teasing from Elsie and Randy, given his multiple Ph.D.s. Oddly enough, it was Audrey who came to his defense on the spiritual aspect when she was visiting for a fluff piece on the team and had walked into the duo questioning him reading an article recently published by the Vatican during lunch.

"They had people building and serving on them for so many years." She wasn't yelling, but there was a hint of steel in her tone. "People who literally shed blood, sweat and tears to protect their home countries. Even if some of the servicemen weren't exactly good people or didn't agree with things back then, they still gave up their lives. Wouldn't we be dishonoring their memory? To question the spirit, the soul, of a ship girl like that?"

The embarrassed - and shamed - silence from Elsie and Randy resulted in Mendel later heading to one of the local artisan ice cream stores and buying Audrey a variety of pints. Nick jokingly questioned if Mendel was trying to steal his significant other away, but arranged to let Mendel spend a week with MIT.

While he had always wanted to meet a ship girl in person, Mendel didn't expect to meet two of the three ships that didn't make it in Pearl Harbor.

"How are you two..."

"Yeah?" Utah glanced over, hands behind her head. Arizona was whistling a song that was distinctly Hawaiian.

Mendel fumbled a bit as he started walking, the pair and N.I.G.E.L. following. "I mean... How can you two be so..."

"Cheerful despite we're visiting our memorials where we were sunk during the day of infamy?" Arizona chirped, having paused in her whistling.

A blush that didn't had anything to do with the tropical sun nor his fading sunscreen. "Sorry, I didn't want to offend."

Utah waved it off. "You're cool. To be honest, it was a bit of a shock for both of us after we were called back."

"You have NO idea how much we were seriously tempted to get drunk after we hit the books," the younger battleship spoke, readjusting her headband. "Sure, we were depressed for a good while, Oklahoma as well, but you wanna know something?"

Curiosity as a scholar poked. "Yes?"

"The three of us decided that even with the complete shit that had happened, we were going to live out the rest of this life to our full capacity." A steely glint in Arizona's eye shone.

"Me and Okie might have already served during World War I, but even with what happened here, we weren't going to let it get us down. Sure, we obviously hit rough waters with some of the carriers that the Japs had sent over during our first meet-and-greet, but it's quite literally water under the bridge," Utah picked up. She waved at her memorial. "We can't be constantly having the hatchet hang over our heads, not in this day and age."

"Cuz we've got better things to do than be constantly picking fights over past shit before actually getting into a fight, like how Kaga and Zuikaku kept annoying Enterprise and Intrepid." Arizona made a face. "Remind me to never piss off Langley - she had all four of them clean out the kitchens on almost every base we and the JMSDF operate out of for weeks."

Utah shuddered. "Got that right."

"Ha! KP duty was one of the better punishments!" an old voice croaked out.

Heads turned to see an elderly man wheeling up in his motorized scooter. A patch of the USN's emblem adorned the basket, while a miniature flag fluttered behind him in the island breeze. That he was on Ford Island meant that he more than likely either went through the same amount of paperwork that Mendel did, or his past services gave him some leeway.

"Doesn't that depend on the soldier in question, sir?" Mendel asked.

A gap-toothed grin. "Oh, that certainly depends, boy, but when you're able to sneak away a few bits as snacks, who were we to complain?"

Utah squinted. "An old salt, huh."

"That I am. If you two don't mind, I've been looking forward to speaking with you, Miss Utah."

She used to be a training ship, so she got the hint well enough. "You'll be fine by yourself heading back to Pearl, Ari?"

"If the doc doesn't mind me hitching a ride." A shrug from Arizona.

"None at all. I needed to head back there anyways."

A grin as the younger battleship slung an arm around Mendel's neck and all but gang-pressed him towards the parking lot, tossing a jaunty salute at Utah. "Good! Need to make a quick pit stop - been wanting to try this new spam musubi I heard coming out and I'm in need of a snack."

Mendel quickly hoped that the USN would be willing to reimburse him on this expenditure as he tried to keep pace with Arizona, for some reason now singing that opening song from _Lilo & Stitch_ quite loudly. He had heard stories of a ship girl's appetite, namely those of battleships and carriers, how "snacks" were anything BUT snacks to humans - he could feel his wallet hurting already.

~ O ~ O ~

Utah spent the next several days conversing with the old man, in and around Pearl. He never gave her his name, and she never asked, even though she knew that he was a Navy veteran. Sometimes, they talked about how things could've gone differently. Other times, they'd debate fiercely on the merits of the changes in military tactics and strategies. More often than not, she'd listen to the vet talk about his family and his experiences, as well his perceptions of world events. Hearing him rail on the US Army's not-so-shining handling with the first Godzilla would've been funny, if only for the inter-service rivalry that was inherent, but she agreed with him that at least they tried their best against an uncertain opponent.

Not that much different with the Abyssals. They were still learning about them.

She had to return to Midway, and was sad to not be able to continue her talks with the old man. He merely patted her hand and told her that duty still had priority, and maybe they'll be able to meet up again once she got shore leave. After finding out her next shore leave, the two of them set up a day.

On said day, instead of the old veteran, a USN sailor with Petty Officer and Machinist's Mates patches stood at the rendezvous point, forcing Utah to cautiously approach her.

A sharp salute when the younger woman spotted the former training ship. "May I presume USS Utah, ma'am?"

Utah returned it. "That I am. I was supposed to meet a gentleman here."

Eyes flickered, but military decorum held. "Machinist's Mate Petty Officer Second Class Lisa Grissom. He wanted to pass on a message, ma'am."

Dread filled her boilers. It was similar to how she felt when the torpedoes had hit and the memory of her crew struggling to get to safety. "I'm listening."

"He said that he was sorry that he couldn't make it today, that he was happy to have had good conversations with you, and..." The petty officer swallowed before straightening her spine. "...that he was glad to have seen you one last time."

It felt as if she was listing again. There was usually one reason for any USN vet to visit any ship memorials.

"He served on me when Pearl was hit, didn't he?" Utah whispered hoarsely, turning to the side and clenching her fists. A reluctant rifling through her logs. "Boilermaker Petty Officer Second Class D. B. Grissom."

The younger Grissom's eyes said it all. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Great-grandpa held on as long as he could."

Utah bowed her head. This was a part that she and Arizona hadn't told Mendel.

It was a pain shared by many of the ship girls whose hulls that were still floating as museums. (Some would say that Constitution was the worst off, having been around for so long - she never confirmed nor denied it.) Encountering the older veterans, seeing them aged so far from what they could fleetingly remember, and then hearing the veterans having passed on. Especially those that had served back then. It hurt.

Their greatest generation.

Now, they were working with the newest generation of naval personnel, those that had grown up with and learned of their naval histories. Some of them were descendants of those that had originally served on them, more often than not startling the ship girls upon finding out. Wasn't that a surprise when Texas had encountered the spitting image of one of her original Boatswain's Mate in the form of his great-grandson, who was also a Boatswain's Mate? Many of the regular personnel spoke that those stories were their inspiration for joining up, even before the Abyssals' appearance.

Humbling. So... goddamn humbling.

Texas had all but bawled her eyes out and hugged the Boatswain's Mate after learning why he had requested to transfer, before quickly making sure that he was fine when he started to flail about and turn blue. The Iowa sisters were considered to be the luckiest, as they saw a good amount of action before their decommissioning in the 90s, Iowa and Wisconsin being the last to be struck in 2006. Most of the vets that had served on them would visit their hulls often - Missouri occasionally got misty-eyed whenever she talked of meeting the children and grandchildren of her crew during shore leave.

Taking in a shaky breath, Utah gave a trembling smile as she turned back to Grissom. "He was a good man. Did he say anything else?"

Blue eyes shone gratefulness. "Only that you be present for his ashes to be scattered at your memorial, ma'am."

She showed up in full rigging, even though she didn't need to.


	10. Gone to the Dogs

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 10: Gone to the Dogs  
**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

Tirpitz had been enjoying her can of Coke when one of the obergefreiter who was assigned to the summoning docks came barreling up to her, military decorum gone out the window while babbling something with arms flailing about.

"Ach, calm down, Wilheim! What has you all up in arms?"

The young seaman's eyes were wide with part panic and part excitement as he panted. "You have to come to the summoning docks, Frau Tirpitz! One of the trainers had brought her class in for lessons and had requested a demonstration. Since we were scheduled to try one anyways and... You MUST see this yourself!"

A raised eyebrow but she decided to humor him by changing her course.

The second eyebrow joined its sibling when the battleship saw what had Wilheim so excited. As well the nervous looks exchanged between the summoning crew, the trainer, and her students.

"Standard materials for what ship type?" she asked calmly, walking towards the ramp.

"Destroyers, ma'am," Lieutenant Kennedy answered, who was on exchange from the RN. "We had scheduled a summoning when Maat Wittenrich had requested a demonstration for her class, and well..." Kennedy gestured weakly at the ramp.

A pack of German Shepherds and Doberman Pinschers in various coloring were sniffing about, some play fighting with each other while a few tried to take naps. What set them apart from normal Shepherds and Pinschers were the numbers that marked their sides and what looked like rigging strapped onto them.

Tirpitz barely stifled her laughter upon realizing what had just been summoned before schooling her features.

" _ACHTUNG_!" she barked, startling the human personnel.

As if a light switch had been flipped, the pack of dogs immediately stopped playing and got into three perfectly formed rows, ears simultaneously twitching towards her that was on par with military precision.

"All of you heard general quarters? One bark for yes, two for no."

One bark from all of them. Human eyes stared. Kennedy hoped that somebody was saving the footage.

"Are you willing to serve your nation once again, to defend the waters and to safeguard our citizens, as well any visiting vessels from other countries?"

Again, one bark.

"Good." Turning about face, Tirpitz saluted but it was ruined by the wide smile on her face. "Lieutenant Kennedy, may I present to you some of our fast attack craft, the Schnellboots."

~ O ~ O ~

Captain Joshi scratched her head as she surveyed the widely mixed pack of Labrador retrievers, German Shepherds, Pinschers - was THAT a bulldog? - and a few other breeds that she couldn't recognize all staring at her. The moment she had stepped into the summoning docks, one Shepherd had barked sharply and all of them had stopped playing and got into formation with ears pointing towards her. ' _Like newly graduated cadets. Was that supposed to be "officer on deck"?_ '

"Destroyers?"

"Aye, ma'am," Petty Officer Second Class Sanchez answered, squinting at his clipboard. "Standard procedure, but someone had left a pile of wood nearby, as well several buckets of adhesive, and we thought it wouldn't affect the attempt."

"Some of the naval depositories that handle southern live oak for Constitution reported they were gone after she came," Joshi pointed out.

A frown. "Huh."

Joshi placed her hands on her hips as she looked back at the dogs, wondering what they could be other than looking like dogs. Rochambeau, who had been following behind, spotted one of the Shepherds and all but squealed in happiness.

"109! You made it back!"

Said dog let out a happy bark before breaking formation, tackling the transport ship to the ground and proceeded to cover her with doggie kisses, tail wagging happily while she laughed. Joshi blinked, her naval history tickling something fierce in the back of her head.

"109... Wait."

Exchanging a wide-eyed look with Sanchez, both immediately began to check the numbers that were on the dogs' sides before realizing what they had acquired.

"PT boats." Sanchez looked ready to go to the nearest bar, covering his face with his clipboard. "We have summoned PT boats."

"Well, look on the bright side - we're probably not the only ones that now suddenly have K-9 units that can go ON water."

~ O ~ O ~

"No, I am not joking about this, sir." FitzRoy pinched the bridge of her nose, the other hand cradling the phone. "Yes, the US and Germany just called me about this development." Another pause. "Yes, their most recent summoning attempt was the same as ours. No, no deviation from standard procedure."

As FitzRoy blindly reached for her cup of tea, King George V helpfully pushed it closer.

"We're going to have another meeting soon at Norfolk, so we'll be discussing about this." Another pause, this time longer, although the captain's face relaxed somewhat. "Understood, sir." With an exasperated sigh, she hung up the phone.

"Well?"

"They're staying. It's not like we can adopt them out to civilians."

A VERY satisfied look as George continued scratching behind the ears of a snoozing Welsh Corgi with "23" on its sides.


	11. Sword Body, Steel Blood, Glass Heart

_Godzilla: The Series_ © Toho, Sony, Centropolis; _Kantai Collection_ © Kadokawa Games; inspiration from _Pacific: World War II U.S. Navy Shipgirls_

* * *

 **Ahoy the Vessel**

 **Chapter 11: Body of Swords, Blood of Steel, Heart of Glass**

Jason M. Lee

* * *

 _He wasn't liking how this patrol had turned out._

 _While he rarely strayed far from Parent or Home, bar hunting and patrolling (because Parent ALWAYS wound up in some form of trouble), a large group of the Wrong Black Ones had come too close to the fringes of the Territory that was Home, chasing after a fleet of box ships. Already, he could see the Surface Females attacking with their fire stingers, as well several of the gray stinger-ships sloughing through the cold waters of the Eastern Ocean that had broken off from their formation surrounding the box ships. Some of the Surface Females were sending out their stinger birds, including the new Surface Females that looked as if they had been escorting the box ships. He had learned early on that the gray ships and Surface Females often encircled the box ships as a form of protection. Ever since the appearance of the Wrong Black Ones, that sort of behavior made sense. Predators hunt to sate their hunger or attack to protect territory, and he has seen pods of the black and white singers and the playful singers attack to defend their weaker pod members._

 _As if compounding the fact that the Wrong Black Ones were intruding, another Large Enemy had shown up._

 _Except this Large Enemy gave off the exact same grating feeling as the Wrong Black Ones did, appearing alongside them._

 _Utterly foul and exuding that aura of empty darkness, as if absorbing all life and light around it. If they were both above the waters, Godzilla wouldn't doubt that it would smell equally as bad as the Wrong Black Ones, if not more. Like the few times he had encountered the small Wrong Black Ones, he didn't engage them as the Surface Females could deal with them._

 _This... THIS Large Enemy, he could fight._

 _Parent's boat was hiding behind the smaller gray ships quite a ways, but for all their fire stingers, he knew that they might not hold out long enough before this new Large Enemy was dead or driven off alongside the Wrong Black Ones._

 _Eyes narrowed, circling the Not Black and White Singer, just as it circled him with equal and dangerous scrutiny. Rows of sharp teeth bared in a threatening manner, as if daring him to attack first, yet he stayed his ground, continuing to circle and take in this dangerous opponent. While its overall shape and pattern was similar to the black and white singers, the similarities ended there - jagged, harsh, and devoid of the brightness most of the various singers carried within them._

 _Eyes barely hidden by the pale patches that surrounded them followed his movement, in which his own eyes watched as well._

 _As if it was fed up with waiting, the Not Black and White Singer briefly flared its spines and shot forward with mouth opened wide. He responded in kind._

~ O ~

 **"WHAT IN SWEET RAVEN'S EVERLOVING NAME IS THAT TA'XET-DAMNED UNHOLY THING?! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY KIDDING ME?!"**

Haida's outburst over the radio pretty much voiced the thoughts of those present when Godzilla and what looked like an Abyssal-based mutated killer whale exploded out of the ocean, their roars nearly drowning out the sound of gunfire. Several of the cruisers scrambled to get out of the way to avoid being crushed as the leviathans dropped back into the water, whereas Battler and Card were so startled that the former almost dropped her crossbow and the latter almost dropped her baseball. The convoy of cargo ships and their naval escorts not engaged with the fight had taken the chance to immediately steam on towards the relative safety of New York Harbor.

"I thought Abyssals were mostly negative mojo of sea folk given form!" Randy yelled, struggling to keep the _H.E.A.T. Seeker_ behind several of the destroyers, both ship girls and actual ships plus some of the USCG fleet personnel. Behind him, he could hear Mendel let out several panicked yelps on attempting to guide N.I.G.E.L. through the chaos. "Or fragments of bad juju from the war!"

"There's nothing that says they can't infect other sea creatures or take their shape!" Elsie snapped back, trying to keep one hand on the rail while also trying to record footage of what was no doubt a brutal beat down between two titans. She hoped the shipboard cameras and sensors would be able to get any additional data that the little yellow robot might not, even though she knew that Abyssals had the tendency to mess up with electronics. They were already chancing it being this close to Abyssals in a full-on firefight, since they were civilians (save Monique). "The fact that it resembles an _Orcinus orca_ might say something otherwise!"

"What makes you think that?" Nick asked, setting aside his parental worry and mentally compiling notes each time the two aquatic behemoths popped out of the water. ' _Two rows of spines, possibly a mutation of the singular dorsal fin, most likely used as stabilizers and maybe to indicate body language. Pectoral fins with actual claw tips similar to Nessie, and the fluke seems to have seen better days from the amount of nicks it has. Epidermal element appears to alternate between the carapace-like skin seen on Abyssals and scutes on crocodiles, or a mix of both. Remind Mendel to see if we can get biological samples. Coloring pattern matches the Type A seen on most..._ '

"Orcas are apex predators and are sometimes known as the wolves of the sea," Monique answered, her ever watchful gaze focused on the ongoing sea battle. A finger hovered above the trigger of her modified rifle, but she kept it pointed down, the constant dodging too rough for her to take a clear shot. Although she doubted she could do any damage to the weakest of Abyssal, "weak" relatively speaking. "Some of the First Nations have tales of orcas taking the form of wolves in the winter, and vice versa in the summer. There is also the fact that they hunt in packs, much like wolves."

Now that she mentioned that, the trio of scientists immediately noticed that the rostrum was vaguely more like a wolf's muzzle in shape instead of the shorter and round one on regular orcas.

"Of course, there's also the fact that 'Orcinus' means 'of the realms of the dead' in Latin," Monique continued, speaking calmly as if discussing the weather. "Some First Nation myths have them being the embodiment of the souls of deceased sea hunters."

"Wait, isn't 'Orcinus' derived from Orcus, a Roman god of the underworld?!" Mendel interrupted, glancing away from the bank of monitors with wide eyes.

Monique's lips twitched, briefly looking at him before returning her attention back to the fight.

Wasn't that a nice coincidence with the feeling of death and darkness that came from the Abyssals.

"Orcabyss!"

Four flat looks were directed at the second youngest member of the team, momentarily ignoring the firefight. Randy shrugged, jerking the wheel hard to starboard.

"What? It's pretty much an Abyssal-fied orca, orcas have relationships with the dead, and the Abyssals are all about granting death to anything that so much dips a toe into the oceans. That, or we call it Aspidochelone."

Campbell, who had sailed up next to the team's ship, simply shook her head at the impromptu portmanteau.

~ O ~

 _Fighting this Not Black and White Singer was frustrating._

 _No._

 _Difficult._

 _It was bad enough that the Not Black and White Singer was almost as good as he was when it came to swimming (if not equal, Godzilla had to grudgingly admit), but its back-fins made it difficult to aim for the back of the neck. Going for where he could think of as the throat was tricky, what with it spinning out of the way. He hadn't been able to think of an idea to lure it closer to land, as they were still too far out, so he couldn't use his fire on it. Most of the damage inflicted had been either his fore claws or hind claws, and the occasional smacking with his tail. In return, the Not Black and White Singer would try to dive underneath him to use its back-fins or use both of its flipper-claws and tail to attack._

 _What made the fight actually difficult were some of the Swimming Black Ones that tried to attack him with their underwater stingers. Stung, they did, but he swatted them to pieces with his tail or bit down on the ones that foolishly came too close. Yet that split in attention was what allowed the Not Black and White Singer to get some strikes in._

 _Splashes from above and a quick glance had him diving out of the way before the Surface Females own fish-stingers hit the Large Enemy, earning a gargled roar from the Not Black and White Singer when bubbles and fire spread. He took in a slightly dark satisfaction on seeing the small plumes of blood spurt out, as well additional fish-stingers sinking some of the Wrong Black Ones by the larger stinger birds, but more Fish-stingers from the Swimming Black Ones prevented him from enjoying it long enough. A dodge and the sensation of an explosion from behind indicated that they had hit something. Another quick glance revealed that the black stingers had hit the largest of the gray ships._

 _As if a something had been flipped, the Not Black and White Singer shot forward, nearly surprising Godzilla. Yet instead of aiming for him, it slammed into the large gray ship's bottom with an incredible amount of force._

 _While Godzilla wasn't entirely fond of the gray ships, he understood that they were as much predators as he was in a way, protecting what they saw as their territory and he understood that Parent cooperated with them at times. Immediately, he went to intercept the Not Black and White Singer, but it dodged around him and once again slammed into the large gray ship, further increasing the hole it had created before retreating._

 _Before he could do anything else, what few Swimming Black Ones that had either escaped his wrath, or new ones that had snuck in, released their fish-stingers right at where the hole was and the large gray ship's bottom._

 _For a brief moment, he could almost hear a keen of pain when fire blossomed._

~ O ~

 _Alarms blaring._

 _Red lights flashing._

 _Controlled frenzy as the damage control teams tried to minimize the damages._

 _Yet, it was too much._

 _ **Set general quarters.**_

 _The first impact had severely dented the port-side, knocking some of the important pipes almost out of place, the sounds that of underwater explosions going off._

 _Torpedoes._

 _The second impact was more forceful, an unexpected breech letting water in._

 _The third impact widened the hole further._

 _Everyone down there was already risking electrocution to fight the fires that were started from the shorts._

 _The fourth strike was of several, now carrying fire and utterly rocking the entire place, dislodging the all important coolant pipes._

 _ **Set general quarters.**_

 _Immediately, the dreaded alarms rang out, even as the engineers and DC teams rushed to contain the situation as much as they could._

 _Explosions from above sent tremors rumbling down. Chances were that one or two of the Abyssal fighters were lucky enough to strike when jets were being spotted._

 _The inevitable order was finally given over the PA system._

 _ **Set general quarters.**_

 _No turning back._

 _Boots pounded down the halls and through the stairs. More explosions rocked against the ship, dislocating parts of the super structure and knocking them over. Those that fell were pulled up by their fellow sailors. Those that were knocked unconscious were carried._

 _Those that didn't make it were carried in the living's hearts and minds._

 _She couldn't think of her exact position within the ship, the overwhelming pain coming from her leg and arm overriding much of her thought process. She could feel part of her uniform sticking uncomfortably to her leg as well._

 _The only thing the pain couldn't override was the constant thought of not wanting to give up the fight, not yet. Not when she still wanted to protect, to defend. If she couldn't do it that way, then maybe this way..._

 _Fleetingly, she could feel someone wrap something around her and then pulling her into a fireman's carry before hobbling towards what she vaguely guessed was the direction of the ports._

"There raise not the dead..."

 _She barely caught the words, the klaxons nearly drowning them but she heard it nonetheless._

"There cannot recover lost things, never again..."

 _Another explosion._

 _Now she was fighting to stay conscious, even though she kept fading in and out._

 _She was starting to hear ocean waves._

 _A glimmer of hope._

 _But..._

 _Her rescuer was gradually breathing harder than usual, more raggedly._

"Even the greatest miracle can only affect the living..."

 _The sound of waves was louder, the continuing thunderous roar of gunfire and the shuddering of the compromised structure nearly drowning the alarms._

 _A brief pause, almost as if at the edge of the ship._

 _Eyes struggled to make out the churning white foam and orange blobs of life rafts and vests as her body was moved from the fireman's carry._

 _And then lips to her ear._

"Give 'em hell, I-"

 _Realization struck and just as she tried to reach out, her savior had shoved her off towards the closest life raft._

 _She remembered grabbing something and feeling it rip within her hand._

 _The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was a smile tinged with red before it was overtaken by yellow and orange._

 _ **Set general quarters.**_

~ O ~

The clocked ticked away, its constant tempo continuously moving forward.

Taking her eyes off of it, Rear Admiral Ione Colvocoresses didn't know what to feel.

She would've been behind her desk, sorting through the mountain of paperwork from the recent battle several days ago, Wisconsin helping her. Tallying up the injured, tallying up the deceased, damages to various ships, damages/injuries to the fleet personnel, communications with the RN and RCN, orders to the MCS, and sending new intel to the various spooks and marine biologists on the appearance of the Abyssalized orca. (Half were already arguing to use Randy's impromptu name, while others wanted something that didn't sound as ridiculous.)

Yet, here she was, sitting next to the young woman in one of the hospital rooms of the converted ship girl repair building with a stack of paperwork, whose name wasn't on the original personnel list but was rescued by the captain who had gone down with the ship.

Thinking of her twin brought a fresh pang of grief.

"Done yet, ma'am?" Wisconsin asked softly, stepping into the room, one hand carrying a large bag and the other holding a cup tray. A bandage was still stuck across the bridge of her nose and the battleship still had gauze wrapped around her head.

Blinking furiously, Colvocoresses swiftly signed her signature on the last batch before setting it on the dresser next to the bed, accepting the coffee. "How's everyone?" Never mind that she had already read the reports - it made her feel better to hear the more recent updates. She didn't even question why her secretary ship wasn't resting like she should be from an earlier sortie - battleships were stubborn that way.

"Half of the RN girls will be staying in the docks longer than planned, same with ours, the RCN, and the CG girls. The others are still recovering, but I've been told that they'll be discharged within reasonable time." The youngest of the Iowa-class tilted her head at the unknown patient. "Her?"

A tired sigh. "I have my hunches on where she came from, but Nestor and the corpsmen have confirmed that she is a ship girl. Considering that we needed to have shielding brought in when they went to reset her limbs and fairies showed up in radiation suits from her..."

Purple eyes blinked, nearly dropping her cup. She couldn't believe that she missed that while skimming. "Quarantine?"

"Safe levels." Colvocoresses popped open the lid of her cup and blew on the contents. "Although Nestor had to MacGuyver some suits for her fairies. What's the status of the site?"

"A team will be sent out in the next few days to verify its status once we're sure that the site is secure from Abyssals, but all things considered, I don't think we'll have to worry about the environmentalists knocking on our doors. Dr. Tatopoulos has also reassured me that Godzilla won't be affected either."

It would've been bizarre, if both hadn't gotten used to crazier ship girl antics. Watching footage of the titanic reptile break off from chasing the mutated orca and struggle to help keep a ship almost three times his length upright, allowing various ship girls, destroyers and cruisers to pick up or tow the surviving crews, was just a bit awe-inspiring. Once the all clear was sounded, Godzilla seemed to know and had swum away, letting the damaged vessel finally sink.

Studying the still sleeping woman, her curtained titian hair barely forming a halo, Wisconsin could see the original hull imposed over her and shook her head. She should have recognized the younger ship girl - they both had operated in the Red Sea. And to appear now, of all times.

Constitution self-summoning herself and her hull still standing was one thing, even if materials designated for her had disappeared from several depots.

This newest member, though...

"And yourself, ma'am?"

Colvocoresses sipped her coffee, making a slight face and suddenly wishing for her grandfather's seasoned coffee pot. "I'm managing. What I hope is for her to wake up soon."

"Not... soon... enough... ma'am," the unexpected voice croaked out.

Wisconsin quickly hit the switch to raise the bed, preventing the newest ship girl from sitting up under her own power. "Steady, now."

She blinked blearily, accepting to stay resting against her pillows and accepting the straw. "How come I'm not in the docks?"

"Didn't want you to accidentally slip under," Colvocoresses answered, putting the cup of water down onto the bed tray. "Before we dump a forest on to you, can you tell us who you are?"

Blue-gray eyes flickered to the rear admiral's name tag, and for a brief moment, Wisconsin thought she would burst into tears when her lip trembled briefly. The fourth of the Iowa-class wasn't immune to emotional displays herself, having occasionally become teary-eyed upon meeting her past crew members not long after her own return. However, she and the older fleet personnel came from older times, when they were no longer floating or had become museums, and thus had additional time to acclimatize to their losses.

The younger ship girl, who wasn't as lucky, took in a shuddering breath and slowly lifted her right arm in an awkward salute due to her cast, fighting not to grimace.

"Second of the _Nimitz_ -class aircraft carriers, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, CVN-69. And above all, I apologize for my failure in regards to Captain Colvocoresses, ma'am."

Ione didn't return the salute. Instead, she stood up and drew the startled carrier into a hug.

"Alcyone would be glad that you made it, Ike." She tightened her arms when she felt Dwight's shoulders start to shake. "So you didn't fail her."

The clocked stayed ticking, still marching forward.

A soft hiccup, and then the good arm went around Colvocoresses.

Another hiccup, fingers grasping her shirt.

Finally, the sounds of weeping, Dwight leaning into the stroking hand on her head and clutching on tightly as if the older woman was a lifeline. Wisconsin laid a ripped name tag on top of the pile of clothes within the bag she had brought in and slipped out of the room unnoticed, closing the door behind her quietly with a sad smile.


End file.
